Chelsea & Liverpool Target Favours Man Utd Move, van Gaal Set To Table £22m Offer

With the summer transfer window finally open for business, managers are working hard trying to strengthen their squads ahead of next season so we’ll bring you all the news and gossip. Today, Man Utd are linked with Pedro….

Chelsea and Liverpool target Pedro Rodriguez favours a move to Manchester United as Louis van Gaal gets set to trigger the £22m buy out clause in his Barcelona contract, according to the Telegraph.

Pedro has been on Barca’s book since he was a teenager and it appeared he was ready to see-out the majority of his career at the Nou Camp after signing a four-year contract extension last month.

However, the Guardian reported last week that the new deal was only signed in order to see his buy-out reduced from £106m to a far more affordable £22m and predictably this has led to intense speculation that he could be heading to the Premier League this summer.

The 27-year-old did little to play down the rumours after revealing last week that he’s received ‘important offers’ and admitted his life at Barcelona has become ‘difficult’ due to a lack of regular playing time.

“It’s true I have received important offers but don’t want to say more out of respect for my club.

“My situation is complicated because I want to play a lot of minutes but that is becoming very difficult at Barcelona.” Pedro is quoted as saying by the Mirror.

Chelsea soon emerged as front-runners for his signature with the Express reporting last Wednesday that the Blues had agreed to meet the players £22m buy-out clause and were confident of wrapping up a deal early next week.

Jose Mourinho has been relatively quiet in the transfer market but with Loic Remy’s future at Stamford Bridge uncertain, it appears the Portuguese boss has identified Pedro as a potential replacement.

The Daily Mail then claimed on Friday that Liverpool had joined the race for Pedro’s signature with Brendan Rodgers supposedly ready to hijack Chelsea’s proposed move for the Spanish international.

Raheem Sterling made a big-money move to Manchester City last week and despite already signing Danny Ings and Firmino this summer, it looks like Rodgers is keen to further strengthen his squad with Pedro reportedly on his radar.

However, Chelsea and Liverpool now face further competition as the Telegraph are reporting today that Manchester United are also ready to meet Pedro’s £22m release clause as Louis van Gaal continues to splash the cash this summer.

The newspaper suggests that sources close to Pedro’s camp have confirmed that his preferred destination is Old Trafford so it looks like the Spaniard could become United’s latest big-money arrival.

Any potential transfer will have to wait until after this weekend’s presidential election at Barcelona but I think it’s only a matter of time until Pedro leaves the Nou Camp and it looks like there’s a good chance he’ll be heading for the Premier League.

If the Telegraph’s report is accurate, then it appears United are in pole position and they certainly have the financial muscle to wrap-up a deal if the player really does favour a move to Old Trafford.

I think Pedro would be an excellent signing for United, or indeed Chelsea or Liverpool, as despite not always being a regular at Barca he’s still managed to score an impressive 98 goals in 318 appearances.

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His versatility will also come in useful as he’s capable of playing anywhere across the attacking positions, including up front as a striker, and £22m for a player of his quality is an absolute bargain in today’s market.

We’ll have to wait and see how things develop next week but I hope we do see Pedro come to England as he’d be a great addition to the Premier League.